Circular knitting machine



Feb. 7, 1939. A. E. PAGE CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. 6, 1936 INVENTOR ALBERT E. PAGE BY HIS ATTORNEYS Feb. 7, 1939. A. E. PAGE CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6, 1956 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ALBERT. E. FAG; BY HIS ATTORNEYS? Feb-7,1939 A. E. PAGE 2,146,647

' CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6, 1936 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ALBERT E. PAGE BY HIS ATTORNEYS 'Feb. 7, 193 9. 1 T v E, PAGE 2,146,647

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6, 1936 I 8 Sheets$heet 4 I ffZ I a.) 3 642 /3 I 49 n x 558 "A 1 X {I Ill/I 49: I

I .n. .lE- 496 I 111 54/ 540 I LEFT FEED STITCH AND SINKER CAMS-543,493.

i 833 G SJI 832 833 UPPER JACK SELECTOR LEVER CONTROL -a29 .525 522 467 f2; RICHT FEED CLEARING CAM 549 F 50/ 460 502 LEFT FEED YARN FINGER-I67 50 LEFT FEED CLEARING emu-s42 l [7?462 M i 46/ RIGHT FEED SINKER CAM AND YARN F|NcER493,aoo! 504 I INVENTOR 4 T5 E ALBERT E. PAGE T 1 BY HIS ATTORNEYS LEFT AU X. FEED Feb. 7, 1939. V 5 PAGE' 2,146,647

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6, 1936 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 MAIN FEED RIGHT AUX. FEED INVENTOR ALBERT E. PAGE BY HIS ATTORNEYS CLEAR TUC K Feb. 7, 1939. 5 E 2,146,647

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6, 1936 s SheetsSheet 6 l i I 11'? 209 05 F f; Z\ /94 /9.3"

/4 203 :1 A v H1 u 2 5 i MMM A. E. PAGE CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Feb. 7, 1939.

Filed Aug. 6, 1936 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR ALBERT E. PAGE BY HIS ATTORNEYS Feb, 7, 19 9.

' A. E. PAGE CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6, 1936 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR ALBERT E. PAGE BY HIS ATTORNEYS SE ZE: u um. x: 52m Y um ml l v a stocking with stepped high splice and sole re- Patented Feb. 7, 193.9

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Albert E. Page, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Scott & Williams, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., corporation of Massachusetts Application August 6,

16 Claims.

fabric at a multiple of feeds and to obtain the,

necessary timed, cooperative action of all the parts. One of the features of the present machine is its ability to knit a stepped high splicev at each feed while knitting on a multiple of feeds, and another feature is the mechanism and manipulation necessary to introduce and remove the various yarns at the auxiliary feeds in proper timed relation. I

The invention will be shown and described in the well-known Scott & Williams revolving needle cylinder machine for making an automatic inturned welt such as shown and described in the patent to Robert W. Scott, No. 1,282,958, dated October 29, 1918.

In the drawings, a

Fig. 1 is a plan view in section taken on the line l-l of Fig. 3 above the upper bedplate of 8. Scott 8: Williams revolving needle cylinder cir-- cularknitting machine embodying my invention, showing the knitting cams for the two auxiliary feeds and their controls while all feeds are in operation;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the lower part of inforcement made on the new machine;

Fig. 3 is an elevation from the left side of the machine showing those thrust rods and connections which control the selecting and knitting cams and the yarn finger for the left auxiliaryfeed, on that side of the machine, the finger being shown in its operative position;

Fig. 4 is a plan view in horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig; 3 below the upper bedplate, showing the mechanism for selecting the pattern jacks;

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the needles in the needle cylinder according to -the lengths of their butts, the arrow showing the direction of their rotation;

Fig. 6 is a development of so much of the main pattern drum as contains the principal cams relating to the two auxiliary yarn feeds, the drum 1936, Serial No. 94,655

cams and thrust rods being shown occupying their positions during making of a high splice;

Fig. 7 is. a development from the inside of the upper cam ring, showing the paths of the-pat tern jacks, intermediate jacks and needles when splicing, and the arrows indicating the direction of their movement, the dotted lines indicating the variations from that path taken by the butts of the needles which do not splice while other needles are splicing, and the dot and dash and dotted lines-indicating the variations from that path taken when no needles are splicing;

Fig. 8 is a plan view taken above thelatch ring and dial-driving mechanism, the view showing the mechanism controlling the auxiliary yarn fingers;

Fig. 9 is a view of the yarn finger at the left auxiliary feed of the machine, showing its relation to the needles;

Fig. 10 is a view in elevation of the plate which guides the left auxiliary yarn finger to and from its operative position;

Fig. 11 is a view in elevation from the right side 'of the machine showing the mechanism for controlling the right auxiliary feed yarn finger and sinker cam and certain knitting cam controls;

Figs. 12 and 13 are detail views in elevation of the mechanism controlling the right auxiliary y'arn finger, taken on the line l2|2 of Fig. 8; Fig. 12 showing the parts when the finger is feeding'its body yarn but not its splicing yarn; and Fig. 13 showing the positions ofthe parts when the finger is entirely withdrawn;

Fig. 14 .is a plan view of the dial and throat plate of the machine showing the various clamps,

cutters and guards'involved in the control of the yarns at the two auxiliary feeds;

Fig. 15 is a view in vertical section through the dial plate of Fig. 14 on the line l5l5, showing the main yarn cutter and clamp;

Fig; 16 is a view of the dial in side elevation, showing the auxiliary cutter and clamp and the guard for keeping the yarns from the first auxx'iliary feed out of the main yarn cutter;

Fig. '17 is a View in partial vertical section through a portion ofthe latch ring, taken on the line l1l'l of Fig. 8, showing the mechanism for controlling the two yarn cutters-and clamps; Fig. 18 is, a plan view taken just above the latch ring on the line l8-l8 of .Fig. 11, showing the levers for controlling the auxiliary sinker cams and the flying latch protector;

" Fig. 19 is a view in elevation of the camming F means controlling the clearing cam for the right auxiliary feed;

showing the paths of the butts of the pattern jacks, intermediate jacks and needles, in a. manner similar to that of Fig. 7; while Fig. 21 is a side view of the pattern jack used in the modified machine of Fig. 20.

It has been known that it was desirable to reduce the length of time consumed by a circular knitting machine in making a stocking, and multiple feeds have been tried. Heretofore these attempts have not been satisfactory, partly because the amount of space around the circumference of the needle cylinder in which to place the various cams and other mechanisms operating on the needles, was too small to enable placement of all the necessary parts fora modern machine. The lack of success of these efforts was also partly' due to the necessity for timing the auxiliary feed movements in such manner as not to upset the appearance of the stocking. In accordance with the present invention a machine has been devised in which the leg and foot-and if desired, also the weltcan be knit at three feeds, while the balance of the stocking is knit at one feed. At the same time the machine is able to produce splicing of varied widths for the high splice and the sole reinforcements at each 'feed. This is accomplished in the limited space available by making a variable selection, using it at a multiplicity of feeds, and thereafter destroying the selection and making a new one. In the example of the-invention shown and described, each selection is kept for one revolution of the machine and then destroyed, and it is immediately followed by another selection. By devising mechanism using this selection for a multiplicity of times before destroying it, it is possible to use only one cycle of operations of the pattern jack mechanism for each three courses of the fabric, thereby cutting in onethird the space around the needle cylinder which has to be allowed for pattern jack selecting operations. The pattern jack and its selecting mechanism is described in greater detail in the patent to Ivan W. Grothey No. 1,678,385,

dated July 24, 1928, and the patent to Albert E. I

Page No. 1,969,853, dated August 14, 1934.

General construction of the machine The machine is of the well-known revolving needle cylinder typemade-by Scott & Williams,

whose basic features are shown, for instance, in the patent to Robert W. Scott No. 1,152,850, dated September 18, 1915. The machine has lower and upper bedplates B and C, such as shown in the Page patent above mentioned, with a pattern jack I36 and intermediate jack 132 under each needle and a trick wheel 800 to select the jacks for the stepped splicing. The machine is also adapted to make an automatic inturned welt in accordance with the Robert W. Scott Patent No. 1,282,958, above mentioned. For this purpose it has a dial containing transfer bits (not shown), the dial being driven in synchronism with the needle cylinder by means of the vertical dial driving shaft I3.' This shaft drives the usualv dial spindle d through the intermediary of a bevel gear, meshing with a bevel pinion on a horizontal drive shaft I 4. v This in turn is connected to the vertical shaft I3 by means of bevel pinions. The shaft I3 is driven from the main bevel gear of the machine in the except during the leg and foot.

usual manner. The short horizontal shaft I4 and the gears and pinions are protected by a cover I4. This cover also acts as a supporting bracket, being mounted on the usual latch ring 550. The latch ring 550 is pivoted on the usual 5 latch'ring post 40I at'the rear of the machine and is supported at the front of the machine by the widening picker post 400. Onthe upper end of the needle cylinder 260 is the usual sinker cap 300. In the throat plate 559 are located the 10 yarn fingers F and- F for the yarns to be fed to the needles at the regular knitting point.

Yarn feeding at the auxiliary feed points In the machine shown in the drawings the stocking is knit at the throat plate exclusively The leg and foot are knit at three feeds, that is to say, three courses of stitches to each revolution of the machine. In addition to the knitting at the throat plate there is a first or left auxiliary feed at the left side of the machine as the operator faces it, and a second or right auxiliary feed at the right of the machine as it appears in Figs. 1 and 8, and to the operator. The exact locations of the left and right auxiliary feeds are indicated at I85 and I86 in Fig. 14. It is during this knitting of the stocking at three feeds that the stepped high splice S and cradle sole reinforcements and the fashion marks shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings are made.

The construction of the left feed yarn finger is shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10. This finger I81 is a thin blade-beveled at its lower end with the point of the bevel in a forward direction, 1. e., in the direction of rotation of the needle cylinder. The body yarn comes through a small hole I 88 in the point or toe of -the yarn finger, while the splicing yarn for this feed comes through a hole I89 which is above and rearwardly of the in its inoperative position it is both raised and moved radially inward. To cause this movement of the yarn finger, there is a tension spring I93 extending from the rod I90 at a point intermediate its ends to a small suporting blade I94 mounted on the latch ring 550. This blade holds its end of the spring radially outward beyond the latch ring (see Fig. 8). the yarn finger in its radially outward position and, since the supporting blade I 94 is ,below the rod I90, the tension spring also has a downward pull on the yarn finger.

A thrust rod 460.whose bent upper end unde li the rod I90 is employed to act in opposition to the tension spring I93 and raisethisieft feed yarn finger; The thrust' rod is actuated from cams WI and 502 shown in Fig. 6. When the thrust rod is on a cam of any height the yarn finger is in its inoperative position. The thrust I rod has atension springinot shown) tending to keep it in ts'lower position. Cooperating with this thrust rod is a curved guide I 95 shown clearly in Fig. 10. This curved guide is an upstanding plate mounted on top of the latch ring and so located that the rod I carrying the yarn finger I81 moves up and down along the inner edge I91 '7 The spring tends to keep the lower position of the rod I90 is the operative position of the finger, while the upper or dotted position shows the rod when the finger is in its inoperative position.

When this yarn finger I81 is in its operative position shown in Figs. 9 and 10 (the solid line showing in Fig. 10), the body yarn is being fed to the needles from hole I88 but the splicing yarn is not being fed to the needles from its hole I89 merely because no needles are shown raised for splicing. When the thrust rod 460 is on the cams 5M and 502, the finger is in its inoperative position. The low portions of the cams I, 502 are to achieve a movement not concerned with three feeds, and when the thrust rod is on such portions the yarn finger is still inoperative. When the thrust rod 480 is down on the main pattern drum itself, as shown in Fig; 6, both yarns are In position to be fed tothe needles.

needles. the jacks do not take the splicing yarn.

The yarn finger 200 for the right auxiliary feed. feeds yarns from the position I89 in Fig. 14 and I is-shown in Figs. 8, 11, 12 and 13 of the drawings. The construction of this finger and its controlling parts is different from the finger at the left feed. The finger itself consists of a vertical blade moving in a vertical direction in a bracket I99 forming part of the bracket I4 which supports the dial driving mechanism. The control mechanism is adapted to lift the finger the desired amount and when freed the finger drops under the action of a spring 200' (Fig; 12). finger, instead of being beveled with the holes for the main and splicing yarns one in advance of the other, is straight and thin with the holes one directly above the other, the splicing yarn of course being above the main body yarn. The yarns come to the tip of the finger through yarn brackets 20I, 202 fastened on the bracket for the finger. The moving of the yarn finger is initiated through a bell crank lever 203 pivoted on the bracket I4 whose lower arm underlies a stud 204 extending laterally from'the upper end of the When it is desired to raise this right auxiliary feed yarn finger to its inoperative position, a direct connection to the main pattern drum through a thrust rod 48I and a wire 205 is employed. The position of the parts when the finger is in this idle position is shown in Fig. 13. One end of this wire is fastened to the upper arm 20'! of -;a 3-way lever 208, with the wire extending rearwardly to a point opposite the arm 201, where the wire passes through a' stud 209 extending laterally from the upper end of the arm. On the wire 205 on the side of the stud away from the arm is a screw collar 206. This screw collar is so located as to tip'the bell crank lever and raise the finger'to its inoperative position when the thrust'rod 46| dropsto the surface of the main pattern drum. Another arm of this 3-way lever is connected'to the upper end ofthe thrust rod 46I- so" that when the latter moves downwardly the rod 205 is moved rear- 1 we d r m thelower arm of the bell crank 'lever203. 2 I

This finger zoororuie right auxiliary feed has two operative positions. In the lowermost posi- Whether or not any splicing is being done depends on the The needles which are not raised by The lower end of this tion both the main and splicing yarns are fed, the main yarn to all the needles and the splicing yarn to needlesraised selectively by the jacks, while in the higher feeding or intermediate position the splicing yarn is not fed to any of the needles. shown in Fig. 12, while the lowermost feeding position, where both yarns go through the needles, is shown in Fig. 11. In order that these feeding positions or levels may be obtained accurately, additional mechanism is employed between the bell crank lever 203 and the lever 208. Beside the rod 205 is a horizontal control lever 2l0 whose forward end rests on the bracket I4 and through whose rear end passes the stud 209 carried on the upper arm 201. This stud 209 lies in a slot 2 1n the lever 2 I0. To the rear end of this control lever 2I0 is fastened one end of a tension spring 2| 2.whose other end is held rearwardly or the lever by a bracket 2| 3. This bracket is fastened to the stud 209. The lengths of the slot 2 and of the tension spring 2 I 2 are such that the tension spring is always exerting a retracting force on the lever 2I0.

The forward movements of the lever 2 obtained from the thrust rod 46l acting th r ingfi the. stud 209.0n the upper end of the lever 2I0 Near the forward end of this lever 2I0 the upper edge of the lever has been cut down to provide two notched levels 2I4, 2I5, which surfaces are used to define the exact elevation of the right feed yarn finger 200 in its two operative positions. In the machine shown in the drawings the lower level 2I5 is rearwardly of the intermediate level 2. The juncture of these two surfaces 2, 2I5 is beveled. The levels determined by these surfaces are transmitted to the bell crank lever 203 and thence to the finger 200 by means of a stud M6 on the bell crank 203. The cams on the main pattern drum for controlling the raising and lowering of this right feed yarn finger are shown in the bottom row of drum cams in Fig. 6 and are identified by the numbers 504 and 505. The cam 504 actuates the finger during the leg, and the cam 505 actuates it during the foot.

The timing of the insertion of the yarn fingers This intermediate feeding position is will be described in connection with theoperation of the machine.

Sinker manipulation at the auxiliary feeds 'cap and screwed to a rocker arm 495 on a vertical post 498 on the upper bedplate'C. Therocking movement of the arm 495' is caused by the'depending rocker arm 491 which rests against a pin 498 carried in a sleeve on the post 498. Thissleeve is free to oscillate on-the post 496' and it is unitary with a lever 5I8 serving to manipulate the-stitch cam 543 for this left auxiliary feed and to connect both mechanisms to the thrust rod "which actuates them." I I Theaux-iliary sinker withdrawing cam 538 for the right'auxiliary-feed is carried by alever 540 pivoted at its front end so: beside one of the lugs 304 on the sinker cap. The'cam 538 itself may comprise a plate fastened on the upper surface of the lever 6%, such plate having a downward extension adapted to enter a slot formed through the cap 300 to withdraw the sinkers in a manner similar to the cam 88 in the Robert W. Scott Patent No. 1,317,897 above referred to. The lever 540 is normally maintained in elevated position by a spring plunger 539 carried in a nipple5 il and pressing against the sinker cap (see Fig. 11). The sinker withdrawing cam 538 is pressed downwardly into operative position from the 3-legged lever 208 by means of the arm 2112 of said lever which terminates in a boss 273. This boss is located above the end of the lever 540 carrying the cam, and contains a spring-pressed plunger 214 pressing downwardly on the lever. There is a cotter pin in the upper end of this springpressed plunger 214 so located that when the thrust rod 46I which controls the position of the 3-arm lever 208, rides down onto the surface of the main pattern drum, the plunger 214 exerts no downward pressure on the lever 540, thus permitting the compression spring 539 to raise the cam 538 out of its operative position. The adjustment of the arm 272 of the lever 208 and the compression spring 214 is such that the low step of cam 504 shown at the left of the bottom row of cams in Fig. 6 is sufficient to bring the sinker cam into operative position. This also brings yarn finger 200 onto step 2l4 on lever 2l0 ready to feed body yarn. However, no feeding takes place until the pattern jacks rise over cam "I about half a course later.

Knitting cams at the auxiliary feeds The arrangement of the knitting cams in the preferred embodiment of myinvention is shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings. This figure is a development of the cam cylinder paths looking radially inward into the machine.

At the main knitting point there are the usual top center cam 351, leading stitch cam 36| and following stitch cam 360. The leading stitch cam 36! is retractable in any well-known manner. The cam ring 2' raises the needles after they pass the knocking-over point. at the main feed unless the pattern jacks are raising them, but the cam ring does not raise them far enough to clear the latches. A clearing cam 542 for the first or left auxiliary feed is therefore used, which can be retracted and inserted in a manner to be described subsequently, and a stitch cam 543 takes the needles as they come from the clearing cam and lowers them to the knocking-over point. A stationary raising cam 544 is located just below the end of the stitch cam 543 but this raises the needles only part way to the clearing point.

The left feed clearing cam 542 is mounted on the left stitch cam bracket 5 and is movable into and out of operative relation with the needle butts. When in its operative position it engages all the needle butts. It is in this position when knitting three feeds. A tension spring 5I2 between the bracket and the cam normally tends to keep the cam retracted in its inactive position. Opposing the force of this spring are means controlled by a thrust rod 462 from the main pattern drum (see Fig. 1). There is a bell crank lever 5l3 mounted on the post M4 on the upper bedplate C, one arm of which lever lies at the rear of the cam 542. The other end of this lever 5l3 is pivotally connected to a rod 5|5 which in turn is fastened to a rocker arm 5l6 of a bell crank lever pivotally mounted on the shaft H6 passing through the latch ring. post 40I. This lever also has an arm grease? 5H! linked to the upper end of the thrust rod 462, which thrust rod is actuated by drum cams 506, 5077 (see Fig. 6). When the thrust rod 362 rides up on cam 506, this left feed clearing cam 542 is put into operation during the leg, and when the thrust rod' rides up on drum cam the clearing cam is put into operation during the making of the foot. The leading ends of drum cams 506 and 501 are stepped in order that the clearing cam for the left feed may be introduced in stages, as will be described later.

In the example shown in Fig. 7, a vertically movable cam 549 in the gate then raises the medles further when they leave the cam 544. Except during splicing or when making a float stitch pattern, it does not raise the needles enough to clear. The right feed stitch cam 545 can be located just after the usual switch cam 4l5 (Fig. 7). Upon reaching the bottom of this right auxiliary feed stitch cam, the needle butts are met by a small stationary raising cam 546 after which they come in contact with a raising edge 54'! on the cam ring. Thence they pass to another clearing cam 548 which raises all the butts (except the .220) a little higher than the cam ring would raise them. The path of needle butts just described is the path taken during three feed knitting by the needles which take only the body yarn. The mechanism for manipulating such of the knitting cams as are movable will now be set forth.

The left feed stitch cam 543 is retractable and is controlled from the same drum cams as the left feed sinker withdrawing cam fastened to spring 493. This stitch cam 543 is adjusted by a screw fastened in one leg 624 of a crank arm 5l8 on the vertical post 496. 'The crank arm also carries the pin 498 by which the sinker cam is controlled. The connection between this crank arm 5! and its operating lever 463 consists of a link 5l8 connecting the crank to a rocker lever 520 pivoted on the vertical post 5I4. A rod 52I connects the longer portion of the lever 520 to the lever 463. High drum cams 508 and 509 under the foot of this lever serve to actuate the left feed stitch cam 543 and the sinker cam 538 during the leg and foot, respectively.

The stationary raising cam 544 just below the end of the stitch cam 543 is mounted on the cam ring 2'.

Turning now to the knitting cams for the right auxiliary feed, we find that many of the cams and their control connections to the thrust rods are carried by a knitting cam bracket M8 on the upper bedplate C near the rear of the machine. The forward end of a slide in this bracket 6I8 carries the right feed stitch cam 545 and the raising cam 546, both of these cams being retractable. Cam 548 is pivoted on the cam ring with a shoulder screw. All three cams are actuated from one thrust rod 466 which serves to push them into operative position, the cams being spring-pressed so that their normal position is out of operative relation with the needle butts. The mechanism between the thrust rod and these cams is also carrid by the bracket 618 and consists of the following parts. Contacting the backs of the slide is one arm of a bell crank lever 6|9 pivoted on a vertical pin or lug 622 of the bracket 618. The other arm has an adjustable contact with a rocker arm 620 pivoted on a horizontal axis on the bracket H8. The end of this rocker arm overlies an extension plate 62I fastened on the upper end of the thrust rod 465. If desired this thrust rod can'be the one which readsthe cams on the main pattern drum, but in the machine here in question it 'is preferred to use a drum cam path on the other side of the machine, 1. e., the left side, so it is necessary to have a horizontal bridge member 623 underlie the plate 62L The drum cams are identified by the numbers GM and 632. The small drum cam preceding cam 63l is used during makeup. Thelow cam after 632 is used during the heel.

Owing to the fact that the yarn fingers I81 and 200 for the left and right feeds come down from above the needles just outside .the needle circle, they are in positions where they would be hit by any flying needle latches. There will be flying latches if, for any reason, there should be a pressoff, and therefore means are provided to stop the machine if there are any flying latches. These means consist of a detector located just above the sinker cap and moved into and out of operative relation with the needles by the controls for the right feed stitch cam. The connection between the controls for the stitch cam and this detector consists of an upwardly extending arm 624 mounted on the bell crank lever H9. The detector itself consists of a long needle 625. The

arm 624 is adapted to push this needle into its op-,

erative position (Fig. 18) In order to gain accessv to the needle circle at a sufficiently low level at this point on the circumference of the machine, the pivoted lever 540 carrying-the right feed sinker cam 538 is humped upwardly at 626 so that the needle 625 may pass freely thereunder at all times. The detector needle is supported by a flat U- shaped bracket 621, the needle passing througheaoh leg of the bracket. A compression spring 628 is coiled around the needle between the two legs of this bracket, and at the rear end of the spring between the arms of the bracket a collar 629 is fastened on the needle. When the needle is pushed forward into its operative position the. collar 629 compresses the 'spring'628 against the forward arm of the bracket, and when the needle is released by the arm 624 the spring pulls it back out of operative relation with the needles. The bracket 621 is pivotally supported by a screw 630 intermediate the ends of the bracket and extending downwardly into a vertical sup-- portrod 640 mounted on any convenient part of the machine -(see Figs. 1 and I1);

Underneath the screw 63!) on top of this supporting rod 640 lies a stationary plate 6 carrying the trip mechanism operated by the detector. The needle 625 and its bracket 62! are normally held with the needle pointing into the needle circle by a tension spring 642 extending from the inner end of the bracket to a small eye on the cover for the vertical dial driving'shaft l8 (see Fig. 13) If thepoint of the detector needle 625 should be hit by a latch of a knitting needle, the needle 625 and its bracket would pivot about the screw 630 thus swinging the rear end of the bracket toward the front of the machine. Except when the bracket is thus swung by a flying latch, there is a small bent arm 643 resting against the rear leg of the bracket 621. This arm- 643 is screwed to the upper end of a vertical shaft 644 extending'downwardly. to the lower bedplate B (Fig. 4'). At this point this rod takes into a stationary support 645 but in such manner that the shaft 644 can revolve without turning the support. Attached to the vertical control shaft 644 just above its support 645 is a blade 646 extending laterally, Whose free end is attached to a tension spring'64l anchored to the support 645. This spring is so located that its tension causes the bent arm 643 on of .338 needles n the upper end of the control shaft to press constantly against the bracket 621. When the detector needle strikes a flying latch and swings the bracket away from the arm 643, that arm is released and the control shaft 644 will turn. In direct line with the resulting path of movement of the blade 646 is a trip wire 648 having a collar 649 thereon, which wire goes to any of the usual stop motions. The release of; the bent arm 643 at the upper end of the vertical control shaft 644 causes the blade 646 to pull on the collar-649, thus tripping the stop motion.

In Fig. 5 there is shown the arrangement of the needles in the needle cylinder in accordance with the length of their butts. There are five lengths of butts, the so-called .220, .270, .300, .338 and .390. These butts provide the proper timed beginning and stopping of these various kinds of knitting. As shown in Fig. 5, there is a group of .220 needles n flanked on each side by a group of .270 needles 113, n. The arrow shows the direction of rotation of the needles. The group n precedes the .220 group n. In the group 11. is a .220 needle for fashion marks. The .270 group "n is preceded by a group of .300 needles n and the .270 group n is followed by a .300 group n. 7

These groups occupy one semi-circle of the needle cylinder. either side adjacent the .300 needle groups just mentioned, composed of needles having .338 butts and identified as n and 71. respectively. These groups in turn are each adjacent a group of .390 butted needles n and 11 1 respectively. In between these two groups of .390 needles is a group The relative lengths of the butts are suggested in Fig. 5.

Yarn cutting and clamping dial cap. The periphery of this dial ca D is cut down all around the cap in view of the-various operations and positions necessary in cutting, mounting and feeding various yarns. On top of the dial cap are the usual main yarn clamp c and a main yarn cutter c. This main yarn cutter and an auxiliary yarn cutter are operated by the mechanisin shown in Fig. 17. Thus from the moving blade of the main yarn cutter a wire 51 extends upwardly to a bell crank lever 58 pivoted on the latch ring and whose other arm overlies the upper end of a= suitable thrust rod 59. It is not desired to cut and clamp yarnsfrom all three feeds in the one clamp and cutter, and in addi-' tion' to the usual clampc and cutter c, a second clamp 69 and cutter 12 are provided in the dial cap at a point about after the main cutter. The main yarn clamp c and cutter c' serve to clamp and out not only idled yarn from the The other half comprises a group at throat'plate 559 but also idled yarns from the right feeding point I86. A wire 63 from the auxiliary cutter I2 is hooked to the end of the bell crank lever 58,, and the bell crank lever is springpressed upwardly by a spring 64.

In order to' be. sure that the floats of yarn which occur during splicing go under the dial rather than over, shoulders or notches in the circumference of the dial can be used. In the manotch 68. Idled yarns from the right feeding point I86 pass under a guard 61 but on top of the dial cap, thence around the dial cam blocks indicated by dotted lines, under the guard 68, and thence to the main clamp and cutter. The idled yarns from the throat plate pass under the guard 68 and on top of the cap and thence to the main clamp and cutter. In order that idled yarns from the left feeding point I85 may not get into the main cutter and thus be cut off without being clamped, means must be provided which consist of an extension guard 16 on the movable blade of the main cutter c. This guard is so shaped and of such length that at no time can idled yarns from the left auxiliary feeding point I85 get into the main yarn cutter. The guard essentially consists of an arm extending outwardly from the cutter blade to the periphery of the dial cap and then counterclockwise along the edge of the cap past the feeding point I85. Underneath guard 78 is a guide plate 73 located above the cap M, and its purpose is to guide the main yarns into the cutter c. The plate 13 extends around to a position opposite the auxiliary cutter l2 and carries on it the auxiliary clamp 68.

Needle selection for splicing One of the big problems in a machine of this type is to find room for the mechanism to make variable splicing or other selections so that knitting can be done at all three feeds. The present illustration of the invention is one in which the splicing is varied, i.fe., a stepped high splice and stepped cradle sole reinforcement are made. The customary way of making such a construction is to select the needles by means of pattern jacks for each course of the knitting, but it is physically impossible in a machine of this type to-select three times for each revolution of the needle cylinder. To get such variable splicing in the machine, I have devised a construction in which one selection by the pattern jacks is made to serve for three courses of knitted fabric, and then all movements caused by such selection are nullified and a new selection is made. The selections are caused by means of pattern jacks selected from 'a trick wheel. 7

- I. will first describe the trick wheel and its control. Referring to Fig. 4, it will be seen that there is the usual trick wheel 88!] with teeth on a ratchet wheel 884 underneath same adapted to permit the trick wheel to be racked around by .virtue of apawl 803 reciprocated in any usual manner. In order to idle the pawl when it is desired to have the trick wheel stand still, there is the usual idling plate 8l2 with tension spring 806 normally holding the idling pla e beyond and out of contact with the pawl 883. The circumference of the trick wheel is prepared for selection in the customary manner and there is,

the usual set of reader. cams 828 on a vertical post 82l, each having a tail adapted to read its ownparticular level of butts M8 on the trick wheel. tail drops. to the surface of the trick wheel by virtue, of a tension spring 843 on pne-end of the reader cam, and'the other end of thereade'r cam then lies against the surface of the cylinder carrying the vjacks and presses inwardly thelower end of any pattern jack 136 which presents a butt to that particular reader cam. The construction of these pattern jacks forms the subject-matter of the above-mentioned patent to Ivan W. Grothey No. 1,678,385. The reader cams downwardly,

828 can be idled in groups. Thus an upper group of reader cams can be idled from a lever 83l con-' trolled by pattern drum cams 832 and 833. This lever has a pull wire 830 connecting it to a jack selector lever 829 pivoted on the lower bedplate B. This lever holds the reader cams 828 out of involves first the rocking outwardly of the lower end of the jacks by pushing inwardly on the upper end. The subsequent pushing inwardly of the jacks which it is desired shall not act on their needles then follows, and the jacks whose lower ends are still out are raised and act on their needles. The pushing outwardly of the lower ends of all of the jacks in order that they may be selected is caused by a resetting cam 14'! located on a level opposite the upper ends of the pattern jacks 136, at a point slightly prior to the time when the reader cams 820 act on the butts of the jacks. This selecting of jacks for the three courses of knitting takes place between the left feed point I85 and the right feed point I86, as can be seen by reference to Fig. 7 of the drawings.

The description of the movements of the pattern jacks, needles, etc. will be with relation to the preferred embodiment shown in Fig. 7, until otherwise indicated. As in the case of the Page Patent No. 1,969,853, there are intermediate jacks 132 between the pattern jacks 136 and the needles N. The paths of such pattern jacks I36, intermediate jacks 132 and needles N, as are selected for splicing, are marked in solid lines on Fig. '7. (The tails on the lower ends of the pattern jacks are" omitted in Figs. 7 and 20 to make the manipulations more clear.) The paths of the butts of needles which are not selected for splicing are indicated in dotted lines. The path of the needles is different when no needlesat all are splicing. The differences in the path of travel of the needle butts at that time from the path of the splicingneedle butts when splicing, are shown in Fig. 7 by the dotted and the dotand-dash lines.

Jack selection Selection of needles by jacks is used for splicing and, in some instances, for knitting. When used for splicing the finger is in its lowermost position; when used for knitting the body yarn only, the finger is raised to an intermediate position. This latter'occurs at the right feed only.

When the lower end or operating butt 133 (Fig. 2|) of a pattern jack is rocked out in order that it may select its needle, it meets'a raising cam MI (Fig. '7) prior to the point where the yarn from the right feed reaches the needles. The pattern jack 13B riding up this cam Ml raises its intermediate jacks 132 and shortly thereafter Where a butt has been broken off, the

main yarn being fed from the lower hole in yarn finger 200, but also the splicing yarn being" fed from the upper hole in that finger if the finger is in its lowermost position. At this point the needle comes under the stitch cam 545 and is pushed while the intermediate jack is pushed down an exactly similar incline I85 on the lower edge of the cam ring 2'. In this way are raised by a second raising cam Ml which raises the intermediate jacks I32 once more-and they pick up the needles near the top of their ement and raise them above the clear level a 'h'ighlevel which enables them to take the cih'g yarn from the yarnfinger F in the throat platif it is in actionyas well as the main yarn from the finger F. -.Once again the intermediate jacks are pushed down by a; surface 796. on the lowerj edge of the cam ring and there push the pattern 'j'acks down;

stitches the same procedure is followed, the pat- For the third course of 'ternfiacks riding up a raising cam HI", raising intermediate-jacks and pickingup the needles near, the 'top of thejmovement to raise them so [that they will take the, splicing yarn from the hole 183m the'finger [81 at the left or first auxiliary feed as well as the main or'body yarnsof "the hole I88. -'I 'he ihtermediate jacks are then forced down by surfac'e 191 on the lower edge of thecam ring which also returns the pattern jacks I to their normal level. -,'Ihereafter the'jacks are reset by cam 741, therebydestroying' theselection used in the first threecourses, and the machine is ready 'to'make. a new'selection and carry it through three more feeds.

, r Anotherintricate matter in the tim'ingof the machine relates to the beginninga'nd ending of the knitting at the ,two.auxiliary feeds. It has been discovered that when starting an additional nothing to tie it in and therefore it-leaves ,an

" eyelethole. ,IIIl order 'to cover up this eyelet hole,

"the machine is 'so arranged thatthe eyelet hole always occurs at the point where itwill be covered up'by the mockseam. gThe needle which is loesteem this point'in the knitting is the first one ,of the .270 group n? which in the knitting comes right 'after' the .220 fneedle group n1. I will first describe how. this needleis caused to be the first to knit at the left-feedlf The selection is made by means of the clearing. cam 542 in cooperation. with the various ilengthsof needle butts.

. The: drumcam 50'6 (Fig. .6) is so located on the main pattern drum that during the rack which actually starts the. two auxiliary feeds .into action the cam will start insertion of theclearing cam ,542 while: theg'roup of .220 needles n are opposite the cam. The ,thrust' rod 462' moves up onto the low step at the beginning of the drum cam 506 while the .220 needles 1!. are passing. This serves to contact allthe butts except the, .220 butts. As soonas the cylinder hasyrevolved sufficiently ,to bring someof the .270 butts of the group n opcam,zso,that thereafter it will clear all needles.

this way the first needle to be cleared and therefore the first to e raised high enough to take ,any'yam at the left feed will be the first finge'r J81 isin its operative position at this moment on the low end; of the cam 50! just prior to the position shown in Fig. 6.: Inthis, position the "main yarn comingthrough'the hole I88 in the lower end of the finger I8! is the only one prethe jacks.

During the making of fabric which contains no sectional splicing such as the, high splice or cradle sole reinforcement, the manipulations are quite different from those employed when there is sectional splicing. When it is desired to begin knitting at the right feed, no sectional splicing is taking place. The yarn finger 200 is in its intermediate position shown in Fig. 12 and the needles which are to take'the body yarn at this right feed are all raised by their packs to take the yarn. During this unreinforced knitting at the right feed the pattern jack pushout cam 7 41 pushes out all the packs so that all'the needles are raised. In orderto start knitting on the first of the following .270 needle group n, areader cam 820 is employed to push radially inward the lower ends of the pattern jacks under'the .220

needle group n, so that the first needle to be raised as knitting is begun is the first of. the .270 group n. The pawl 803 then racks the trick wheel 800 and the reader cam 820 is retracted.

causing the .220 pattern jacks to be out on suctake the reinforcing yarn, the selection being 'made by the reader cams 820 in'the ordinary manner. The yarn finger is put in its lowermost position to present the splicing yarn to. the selooted-needles. 1

It 'is desired to end the knitting at the auxiliary feeds on an exact needle 'and preferably the same needle at both feeds. "-The machine is so arranged that the last needle'to knit is the last of the .270 group n whichprecede the .220 needle group n. At the right feed the right stitch cam 545 is withdrawn in stages. The stitch cam is partially withdrawn till out of the path of .220 butts while the .270 needles n just ahead of the .220 group n are passing the cam. In this way the last needle to .knit is the last needle of the .270 group n preceding the .220s.

'As soon as the right hand stitch cam is opposite the .220 needles n''- it completes its withdrawal. 1 g

'It is also necessary to stop the selection of needies by. the jacks, and to do this the resetting cam H1 is pulled out of operative relation with the butts. This is timed to take place when the cam is at the leading group of .390 needle butts 11 and stopsthe splicing at that point on the right-feed. Simultaneously there is an'idling levcrx743 which pushes radially inward thebutts of the pattern jacks 136 which have been selected for splicing at the-beginning vofthe .270 group 11 so that except for the first --few.splicing;jacks the remainder do not rideup the cam 741" at the left feed.

I The left feed jack'idling lever 143-is-' pivotod "on the'lower bedplateIB by abracket 313 and. is held at the proper levelby a 'link 31,4 attached to the cam not far from its operative end.The exact inward-position of the cam isvdetermined 'by a ftension spring 315 and a' slot. and screw arm arrangement 3'l9.- One end of this lever 319 overlies the beveled upper end of the thrust rod 468, the raising and lowering of the thrust rod determining the movements of the cam into and out of operative relation with the operating butts 133 at the lower end of the pattern jacks. This serves to stop the splicing at the left feed. The

idling lever 143 can be controlled from the main passing. The needles which are not cleared by the cam 542 remain at the tuck level and miss the splicing yarn but take the main yarns. After a number of uncleared needles have been drawn down by the stitch cam 543 to lay the main yarn under the sinkers, the left feed yarn guide 200 is lifted out of action at the end of the leading group of .270 needles n and simultaneously the stitch cam 543 is withdrawn.

In order that the machine-which is adapted to start up the knitting from the bare need1es may make up, and subsequently may be able to make tuck stitches such for instance as are re-. quired in making fashion marks 4|, it is necessary that the needles in the machine be able to travel uninterruptedly by the locations of the right and left feeds. For illustrative purposes the mechanism to accomplish this will be described in connection with the making of fashion marks. The fashion marks needles have .220 butts and are located in the .220 needle group n and in the following group of .270 needles 11. Since the fashion marks 4| are being made while the machine is knitting at all three feeds, and we desire to have two pairsof tuck stitches one below the other, the machine is arranged to tuckfor two courses and then knit one course. The tucking occurs at the right feed and the main feed. The right stitch cam 3 6l at the main feed is withdrawn during the making of fashion marks and preferably during all the time that the three feeds are working, and the fashion marks control is obtainedfrom the pattern jacks 136. It isessential also with the embodiment shown in these drawings that the right stitch cam 36! at the main feed be withdrawn during the making of the high splice and sole reinforcements. At the right feed all the jacks raise their needles to the clearing point except thosewhich are to make the fashion marks. One of the reader cams 820 has pushed inwardly the lower-ends of the pattern jacks 136 under-'- vlying the fashion marks tucking needles and therefore those needles are not raised to the clearing point but approach the stitch cam 545 at the right feed at the level at which they are left by the gate cam 549 which is in its lower position. This gate cam 549 stays in its lowermost position throughout the knitting at three feeds until the high splice is reached. Thus at the right feed all the needles knit except the fashion marks needles which tuck. Coming out from under this right feed stitch cam 545, all the needles are raised by cam 546 and the edge 54! of the cam ring 2', but thereafter the tucking needles are again treated differently in order that they may tuck at the main feed. The clearing cam 548 when inserted in its operative position does not extend close enough to the needle cylinder to catch the needles with .220 butts, and therefore it raises only needles with butts longer than .220. This allows the fashion marks tucking needles to travel ahead at the tucking level, all others (including the .220 butts other than those tucked) being cleared by their jacks. Shortly thereafter the pattern jacks underlying all of the needles except the fashion marks tucking needles will ride up their raising cam I4! and thus raise all the needles (except the fashion marks tucking needles) to the clear point. Coming out from under the stitch cam 360 at the main feed, all the needles are cleared by the clearing cam 542 and the tuck stitches are knit off under the stitch cam 543.

The gate cam 549 is controlled by drum cams 522, 523, 524 and 525 on the main pattern drum through the intermediary of a curved cam plate 802 around the cam ring, a tension spring 8l3 extending between the forward end of the curved plate 802 and post 400 and tending to pull the cam plate so that the cam 549 can drop to its lower position. The plate 802 is connected to its thrust rod 461 by a wire L The construction of heel shown in Fig. 2assuming that the stocking is being knit from top to toeis made as follows. First the usual narrow-- ing courses are made and then an extra gusset is made in the point of the heel by putting in a few of the main widening courses and then narrowing again to the same number of courses that were widened. In these respects the heel is like the patent to W. E. Smith No. 1,216,374. Thereafter, instead of inserting the remainder of the main widening courses in the usual manner, the knitting of the sole is begun at once, using a lesser number of wales on the sole side of the suture than on the narrowed side of the suture. In this connection reference is made to the Sheppard Patent No. 1,932,292.

Modification of Figs. 20 and 21 In order to make a machine which will run a little more freely, a modification has been invented in which the jack cams, cam cylinder and the pattern jacks have been changed as shown in Figs. 20 and 21. In this modification the pattern jack itself rises only for every third course of the knitting, and the pattern jack itself is modified somewhat. It will'be observed that it has the usual operating butt I33 and selecting butts 138, and also a main lowering butt938 located just above the butts 138 and extending outwardly beyond the pattern butt. At the upper end the jack is shaped in an unusual manner. The novel construction at the upper end of the pattern jack and which cooperates with certain cam formations in a manner which will be described, consists of a notch or shoulder 928 on the butt or outer side of the pattern jack extending downwardly from the upper end of the jack a distance of say A".

In Fig. 20 the jacks and needles are shown taking the paths pursued .by the splicing jacks and needles, i. e., those which are raised to take the splicing yarn at the three feeds. The pattern jacks thus selected by the reading cams 820 are elevated on the raising cam 9 in the same manner as in the embodiment of Fig. 7, and

point of this cam is at such an elevation that it controlled in a manner similar to those. of the meets the pattern jack I36 and the intermediate jack 132 in between the two jacks, i. e., below the butt of the intermediate jack I32 and just above the notch or shoulder 928 on the pattern jack.

The upper end of the pattern jack is not rocked out far enough to bring the top of the jack above the shoulder out of the cylinder slot. In this way the cam is able to divide the two kinds of jacks, the intermediatejacks rising up the cam to an elevation whichenables the needles to take the splicing yarn in the same manner as shown in Fig. '7. Thus the pattern jack can be lowered and the intermediate jack raised by a cam without causing a smash-up.

When the pattern jacks have been returned part way to their normal level, the jobof lowering them is turned over to another butt and another cam. The cam which-now takes over the job of finishing the lowering of the pattern jacks is a triangular cam I42 acting on the butt 938;

just below the rocking point of the jack. In this way the pattern jacks are taken away from the cam surface 'which separated the pattern jacks from the intermediate jacks. The cam 142 lowers the pattern jacks just a little further than their proper level for selection by reader cams 820 in order that they may be accurately 'positioned later by another raising cam (not shown). The cam adjacent cam 142 is to perform this function on the last reverse movement coming off the heel. Similar means for accurate positioning can be used in the mechanism of Fig. '7,

In the meantime the intermediate jacks having been raised to their highest level by the raising surface of the cam 146, they come against a. lowering edge 995 of the cam ring-TH and are driven down to a level just a bit lower than the knocking-over point of the needles. While coming down this slope 996 the intermediate jacks .are sufliciently low to be separated a slight distance from the butts of their associated needles. Immediately after reaching the knocking-over point at the bottom of stitch cam 555 at the right feed, the needles are raised by a cam 546, as in the case of Fig. 7, then the raising edge of the cam ring 21 I and then the clearing cam 548.

Just as the needle butts are leaving the raising cam 546 the butts of the intermediatejacks I32 start up a raising cam 9" located underneath the cam ring, which raises the needles to a sufli,

ciently high level to take both the splicing and main yarns at the main feed. As soon as the intermediate jacks have pushed the needles to this level-which is the. same level as in the are not so raised are cleared by a cam 542'.

They are pulled down for the last time by lowering edge 398 of the cam ring, .while the needles are travelling down the stitch cam 543 at the left feed, with a slight space between the needle butts and the tops of the jacks, as in the case of the situation at the righti'eed. After leaving the stitch cam 543 they are started upward by a cam 544' and thence to the cam 549, as in Fig. 7. The movable cams in the em'bodimentof Fig. 20 are embodiment of Fig. '7.

Operation of the machine made from the main pattern drum which is racked only intermittently, and to the fact that l the various elements have to be introduced in a certain timed relation to all the other parts in order that the two auxiliary feeds may begin at the desired point, it is necessary to begin preparation for the three feed knitting early in the operation of the machine. Thus when the machine is making a Model K inturned welt, the first movement of the parts directly involved with the two auxiliary feeds occursat the beginning of the rack of the main pattern drum preparatory to transferring the loops on the bits to turn the welt. The trick wheel pawl 833 is idling on the surface 8|! and all the reader cams 826 are retracted out of operative relation with the pattern jacks I36. This preliminary transfer rack starts on a low cam surface on the main pattern chain and during the four courses of knitting while the main pawl is on its low surface nothing relating directly to the two auxiliary feeds takes place, the only movements being to lower the clearing cam 549 and insert the stitch cam 360.

When at the end of the four courses the pattern chain is racked ahead and puts the pawl on a high portion of the link, the first operations directly relating to the three feeds takes place. I

As soon as the pattern chain pushes the pawl controller onto the high portion of the link, the

main pawl begins to make a long rack on they main' rack wheel. When the main rack wheel starts to turn, the main pattern drum of course also starts to turn and the transfer bits in the dial are pushed out. Immediately thereafter the thrust rod 463 rides up onto the cam 508 on the main pattern drum, which moves the left feed stitch cam 543 into action and the corresponding sinker withdrawing cam carried by the spring 493. The left feed stitch cam 543 completes its inward movement while over the .270 needle group n. It is necessary to introduce part of the auxiliary feeds at this point because thereis no time to introduce both the extra feeds in their entirety in propertimed sequence at anylater time in the operation of the machine. The time of introduction of the stitch cam 543 is such that it is introduced while the .220 needle group n is a passing. This occurs while the lower end of the thrust rod 463 is passing over-the low step at the beginning of the drum cam 508. By the time the thrust rod has ridden up onto the top of the cam 508', the following group of .270needles n are opposite the stitch cam and the stitch cam goes all the way in. It might benoted at this point, however, that the auxiliary yarns are not presented to the needles andthe needles have not been cleared, so that no stitches are drawn and no stitches knocked over at this feed as yet.

While the main pawl controller is still on the high portion of the pattern chain link, the main pawl makes an auxiliary rack, causing certain additional operations relating to the auxiliary feeds. One ofthe additional manipulations taking place at this time is the movement of the jack 5 resetting cam Ml out of operative relation with the upper ends of the pattern jacks. This occurs when a thrust rod 466 rides down off drum cam 525 to the surface of the pattern drum, causing the arm 790 to swing as it rides up the bevel at the top of the thrust rod, 'and move the cam Ml out of operative relation with the pattern jacks. As this auxiliary rack comes to an end, the left feed yarn guide 107 is dropped to its operative position shown in Figs. 9 and 10, by the thrust rod 050 i riding off the high portion of cam 5M to the low portion thereof. In this operative position it is ready to feed yarns to any needles which may be raised sufliciently to take the yarn. The tension spring I93 holds the finger radially outward against the plate H05 to its correct radial position.

Although this finger is thus in an operative position, no knitting wave has been created at this point, so that as yet no body yarn can be fed to anyneedles at this feed. But it will be observed that at each of the feeds some of the preparatory movements have taken place well in advance of the time when they are needed, but they are such that it does not interfere with the operation of the machine and reduces the number of timed 80 operations actually necessary when beginning the two feed knitting. The right feed clearing cam 549 is still in its lower position.

The preparations all having been made, and by taking advantage of the racking which oo- 35 curred at the time of transfer, the machine can now knit as many plain courses at the main feed alone as may be desired. Thus, for instance, twenty-eight courses can be made at this time before starting the rack which starts the two 40 auxiliary feeds.

The rack which causes the machine to start the two auxiliary feeds performs principally functions relating to three feeds. It may however introduce the main yarn at themain feed.

45 On this rack of the main pattern drum the clearing cam 542 located just prior to the left feed stitch cam 543 ,is moved into operative position while over the '.220 needles 1!. and begins to act on the first of the .270 needlesin the following 50 group n. This introduction of the left feed clearing cam 542 is caused by the stepped drum cam 506 acting on the thrust rod 462, rocker arms SIB, 5", rod M5 and bell crank lever 5I3. This clearing cam raises the needles a sufficient dis- 55 tance to take the body yarn from the left auxiliary yarn finger but not the splicing yarn. When the first of the .270 needle group 11. takes this body yarn from the left feed point I85. it is lying over the guard 13 to the clamp and cutter The insertion of the right feed stitch cam 545 (starts at the same time just when the center .338 needle group' n are opposite the stitch cam,:-

and the insertion occurring at the end of this 65 group of needles, it becomes effective in the .390

araa em ment into operative position of the flying latch detector needles 625 at the last of the inward movement of the right feed stitch cam.

As already explained, it is desirable that both the yarn feeds begin knitting at the same needle and that that needle should be in a location where the mock seam will cover the eyelets which they produce in the fabric. The first needle of the following .270 group n is the needle where knitting should begin to accomplish this, and how this is accomplished at the left feed has already been explained. It being impossible to introduce the stitch cam and yarn fingers in such timed relation as to have this happen at the right feed as well as the left feed, the raising of the needles to the point where they will take the yarn at this feed is availed of to select the desired needle for beginning knitting. This can be accomplished through the jack selecting mechanism. As already stated, the gate clearing cam 509 is not in its raised position and therefore the needle butts cometoward the right feed stitch cam below the clear level. The thrust rod 464 is raised by drum cam 52'I, causing insertion of the jack resetting cam I41 into its operative position where it pushes out the lower ends of all the jacks. In order that the first of the following .270 needles 11 may be the first ones to get the yarn at this feed, the lower ends of the .220 needle jacks must be pushed radially inward, and this is accomplished by dropping into action at this point the lowermost of the reader cams 820. Preferably this selector finger has been in its operative position since the auxiliary rack during the transfer, but ineffective because the resetting cam 14! was not in operative position. The resetting cam 14! is effective if its thrust rod is up on a cam of any height. This selector finger pushes in all the jacks of the .220 needle group n. In the meantime the right auxiliary finger 200 is dropped to its intermediate active .position where it is ready to feed the body yarn butnot the splicing yarn to the needles raised. by the jacks, This is accomplished when the thrust rod 46! rides up onto the low surface of the drum cam 504. This movement not only causes the insertion of the sinker withdrawing cam 538 but also pushes forward the wire 205, dropping the stud M6 onto the high cam surface 2l4 on the control lever 2l0, thereby putting the right yarn group n which follow thecenter .338 group, and

completing its insertion there, continues to take the lower end of thrust rod 466 which in turnacts on the bridge thrust rod 465, extension plate 62L rocker arm 620 and the bell crank lever (H9.

75 The extension 624 on the lever M9 causes move-.

finger in its intermediate position (see Fig. 12). In this way the first ofthe .270 needles is the first to get the yarn and to knit at the right feed.

It is necessary to insure that the .220 needle group 'n will be able to take this yarn on succeeding revolutions of the three feed operation, and to this end the trick wheel 800 is racked by its pawl 803. As soon as the drum begins to turn,

the lower selector finger 820 which has been resting in a buttless spot on the drum since the transfer rack, moves to a butt which withdraws the lower selector finger and thejacks under the .220 needes are not pushed back into the cylinder on the. following revolutions.

The machine is now knitting three feeds without any splicing and the positions of the thrust rods in Fig. 6 are as follows. The thrust rod 463 for the left feed stitch, cam and auxiliary sinker cam is on a'high portion of drum cam 508, the

upper jack selector lever control thrust rod83l is on the lower end of drum cam 833, the right feed clearing cam thrust rod 461 is between cams 522 and 523 on the surface of the main pattern drum, the left'feed yarn finger thrust rod 460 is on the low end of drum cam 50 I thejack pushout reach the selector reader cam thrust rod 464 has just ridden onto the top of drum cam 521, the right feed stitch can thrust rod 466'has just ridden up onto drumcam 63!,

the left feed clearing cam thrust rod 462 is on the high portion of drum cam 506, and the right feed auxiliary sinker cam and yarn finger thrust rod 46! is on the low portion of drum cam 504.

Assuming it is desired to put" fashion marks, i. e., tuck marks, in the back of the leg at the appropriate point, the manipulation of the ma chine to achieve this end will,now be set forth.

The fashion marks needles are located in the .220

long enough to catch the .220 butt needles and therefore clears all but the .220 butt needles. To make these fashion marks in the leg it is desired to tuck for two courses and knit off on the third course, the tucking taking place at the right feed and the main feed. To clear after the left feed, the gate clearing cam 549 is raised to the position shown in Fig. '1 by racking the main pattern drum a short distance until the thrust rod 46! under this 'right feed clearing cam 549 comes up from the surface of the main pattern drum onto the low drum cam 523. This last rack also causes the thrust rod 63! to ride off the. high portion of its drum cam 333 onto the low step at the end thereof. This allows the upper selector control to swing partly into operative position, permitting one of the reader cams 320 to go into action. This is the so-called lever which, acting through the pattern jacks, causes all the needles but the fashion marks needles to be raised, thereby causing tucking at two feeds onthe fashion marks needles only.

When making fashion marks the needles are .tucked on the right auxiliary feed-and on the main feed der.

for only one revolution of the. cylin- However, the trick wheel is racked every two revolutions; and'therefore to prevent the tucking on more than one revolution the cams on the high speed gear which cause the racking of the trick wheel are adjusted in the following manner- The cam on the high speed gear which is to bring the trick wheel to position to cause tucking on the first of the two revolutions is set back slightly or delayed so that its operation does fashion marks selector.

be designated as the high splice rack, and at this time the pattern drum moves so as to bring the various thrust rods into the positions shown in Fig. 6. The upper selector lever control thrust rod 33! drops off the'low surface at the end of cam 833 onto the surface of the main pattern drum, thus allowing all the upper selector lever reader cams to move into operative position for the varied selection in high splicing. This occurs y when the center .338 needle group n are opposite the reader cams 820, and thereafter all the needles that are not to knit the splicing yarn will have their jacks pushed back into the cylinder. The thrust rod 46! for the right feed yarn finger moves onto the highest portion of its drum cam 504 which moves the finger 200 into its lowermost position (see Fig. 11). The spring 214 takes up the extra motion without damaging the lever 540 To allow the needles to take the splicing the left feed, the left feed cylinder jack idlingnot take place until just after the tucking needles have passed the reader cam 820. On the seca'ond revolution the fashion needles tuck at the r ght auxiliary feed and at the main feed, 1. e., they do notclear. The high speed gear carrying the cams for racking the trick wheel makes one revolution for every four revolutions of the needle cylinder and has two cams thereonto rack the trick wheel, so it is racked every two revolutions. The second cam on the high speed gear is set slightly ahead so rthat the trick wheel will be racked just before the tucki patternjacks fingers 320 on thethird revolution. In this way the fashion marks in the leg consist of two tucks and ten cleared stitches, i. e., twelve stitches for one revolution of the high speed gear. l

' In the foot the tucks are made in a different manner. If fashion marks are being made in the foot, the timing of the needle cylinder wim which carries the sinker withdrawing cam 533. This happens when the .300 needle group M, which precedes the .220 group n, are opposite the finger. These particular needles do not take the splicing yarn-at least at the beginning of the splice-and the first needles to get the splicing yarn do so at the main throat plate. The main yarn splicing finger is dropped into action in any desired manner before the first high splice needle reaches it. The needles are raised to the splicing level at the main feed by the jacks riding up the pattern jack raising cam I4!'[ and they are raised again at the leftfeed when the pattern jacks ride up the pattern jack raising cam 14!".

lever 143 is moved out of operative position by the lowering of thrust rod 468, by means of a yarn at cam on the main pattern drum.- (not shown).

This same rack moves the thrust rod 460 for the left feed yarn finger off the low portion of drum cam down onto the surface of the main pattern drum. The splicing needles are now taking the path shown in solid lines in Fig. '7.

When the machine is ready to go into the making of the heel by the usual reciprocatory knitting, the main pattern drumis racked again. At the beginning of this rack the right feed stitch cam 545 drops part way out of operative position while over the leading. group of .270 needles n, soas to miss the .220 needle group n and then completes its withdrawal. This is done by means of the thrust rod 466 riding down over the low end. of the drum cam 63! and then to the surface of the main pattern drum. Simultaneously the right feed sinker cam andyarn finger are withdrawn by the thrust rod 46! dropping off the cam 504, 'The switch cam 5 moves into action to raise the instep needles, as usual. The resetting cam 14! goes out of action while over the group of .390 needles n which follow the center .338 group ,n', by the thrust rod 464 riding off the drum cam 521. Q

The sequence of operations affecting the left feed when going into the heel is as follows. The left feed jack idling lever 1433s moved into action by the raising of thrust rod 463 'onto the cam 632 Just after the-first few splicing jacks have passed "[5 it. Its introduction serves to drive all the remainder of the jacks back into the cylinder so that they will not be raised onthe left auxiliary jack raising cam TM". The first few needles raised by their jacks at the left auxiliary feed take the splicing yarn and knit. Simultaneously with the introduction of this left feed jack idling lever I43, the resetting cam M1 is thrown out of action, thereby destroying the selection of needles by jacks. This happens while the resetting cam MT is opposite the jacks of the following group of high butt needles, i. e., the .390 group M. The

left feed clearing cam 542 is withdrawn by its thrust rod 482 dropping down onto the surface of the main pattern drum, while the cam is over the leading group of .300 needles, 1. e., the group n In this way the needles immediately following the splicing needles which were raised by their jacks and took the splicing yarn, are left at the tuck level, miss the splicing yarn and take the. main yarn. These needles are drawn down by the stitch cam and thereby lay the main yarn under the sinker nebs, and then the left feed yarn guide I81 is withdrawn at the beginning of the leading .270 group n and the left feed stitch When the machine has completed the heel and the preliminary regular rack in going off the heel is taking place, there is an auxiliary rack which starts the return to three feed knitting for i The right feed stitch cam 545 and clearthe foot. ing cam 548 move intoaction, the right yarn guide 200 and sinker withdrawing lever 540 drop into their active position, the switch cam 4 I5 goes into action to lower the idle needles, the jack resetting cam "1, the upper selector control lever 829 and the lower selector control lever drop into action, the last-mentioned driving back into the cylinder the Jacks under the .220 needles so that the knitting at the right feed will begin on the first needle of the last .270 group n". The clearing cam I549 in the gate is raised into action (contrary to the case in the leg) and the left feed stitch cam 543 is moved into action under the inactive needles, and the left feed sinker lever 493 is moved into action. Immediately thereafter the left feed jack idling lever 143 is withdrawn,

having been cleared. The first needles to knit on the left feed are those already selected and which have kniton the right feed. The opera- 7 tio'ns goinginto the' toe are similar to those going 1 needles at the desired points.

into the heel and therefore do not need to be described.

The manner of operation of the modified form in Fig. 19 will be obvious from the description of its construction. 'Thepattern jacks 936 rise only once, i. e., when going up cam 94! just prior to the right auxiliary feed. Thereafter it is the intermediate jacks 132 which raise the splicing The pattern jacks are returned to their original level by the lower edge of cam I48 and cam I42. struction no cam for idling the pattern Jacks at the left feed is shown.

What I claim is:

1. A circular knitting machine having .With this con-1 acircle of independent needles. jacks individually associated with said needles for raising the latter to take yarns at an upper level, a normal cam path for said needles adapted to cause them to take yarns from a lower level, in combination with a yarn finger having yarn outlets at said upper and lower levels, and means adapted to raise the yarn finger to cause it to feed the lower level yarn to the needles raised by the jacks.

2. A circular knitting machine having a circle of independent needles, jacks individually associated with said needles for raising the latter to take yarns at an upper level, and a normal cam path for said needles adapted to take yarns from a lower level, in combination with a yarn finger having yarn outlets at said upper and lower levels, means adapted to raise said finger to feed the lower level yarn to the needles raised by jacks, and means adapted to raise jacks selectively when the yarn fing'er is in its normal position and to raise all the jacks when the yarn finger is'in its raised position.

- 3. A circular knitting machine having a circle of independent needles, jacks individually associated with said needles for clearing and raising same to take yarns-at an upper level,,and a yarn finger having y'arn outlets at upper and lower levels, in combination with means adapted to position said yarn finger-to present yarns from either the upper or lower level yarn outlets to the,

needles raised by the Jacks, a normal cam path for said needles adapted to clear same and enable them to take yarn from the lower level yarn outlet when the upper outlet yarn is presented to needles raised by jacks, said path being oper: ative on needles not raised by the jacks, and means adapted to cause the jacks to select some of the needles when the yarn finger is in its lower position, but to select all the jacks while the yarn finger is in its upper position.

4. A circular knitting machine having a circle of independent needles, jacks individually associated with said needles forraising the latter to take yarns at two levels, a normal cam path for said needles adapted to take all the needles except those with short butts and to clear them and present a yarn to them from the lowe in combination with a yarn finger havin' yarn outlets at a plurality of levels, means adapted to position said yarn finger to present yarns at both levels or to present yarn from its lower level to needles raised by jacks, and means adapted to cause said. jacks toselect all said needles when said yarn finger is raised, except needles with short butts.

5. A circular machine for knitting hosiery, said machine having a rotating circle of independent needles, a multiplicity of feeds and pattern jacks individually associated with the needles, means adapted to select a variable number of jacks at one point on each revolution of the machine, and means causing jacks so selected to raise ,their needles at each of a multiplicity of feeds and to destroy the jack selection at the end of a revolution. I

6. A circular knitting machine having a multiplicity of feeds and a circle of independent needles,- pattern jacks individually associated with said needles for the purpose of raising them to take yarn fed at an upper level at each of the feeds, cam means to clear the needles at one of the feeds, means to raise the jacks at each feed so as to clear the needles at the feeds other than the clearing cam feed and present needles at each feed at an upper level to receive yarn, in

level, i

combination with supplementary means prevent- 7 

